Escondido, CA, United States
About this listing
Hello and welcome to The House of chrome. You are looking at a great general purpose microphone made by Electro Voice during the 1950's & 60's that was intended to be used for dispatch purposes and general broadcasting but it was also an ideal mic for a HAM radio set up. The 638 just happens to make for one of the better dynamic harp mics available today as well. It comes with a short cable in which to operate, original stand and Amphenol on / off adapter. More on that in a moment. Pic # 2 is from an old E.V catalog showing the 641 and 638 model and it's characteristics. The 638 and 641 microphone utilized the exact same element but the 641 came with an elongated body via a center plastic extension with on / off switch which the 638 did not. The 638 was an all metal construction being very rugged and basically bullet proof. To get the on / off option the vintage Amphenol 75-MC1F-386 adapter is included. It basically screws right onto the bottom of the mic as seen in the pics provided. It's an all metal design with small bakelite lever that you can depress to make the mic go live only when needed but if you want full hands free live option simply depress the lever and slide it upwards until it locks into place. The 75-MC1F-385 was originally manufactured in the 1930's and was sold for decades giving any Amphenol type mic an on / off option. They are very practical and it's a real gem showing no wear and functions perfectly. The short custom built cable screws onto the bottom of the adapter. The short cable is soft, pliable and in excellent condition with the standard male XLR connector. Simply leave it screwed onto the Amphenol adapter then attach any longer XLR cable of choice as an extension to your audio equipment as needed. This 638 has a high impedance setting with a very strong 100% signal. It's omni-directional as well picking up a little more background than a uni-directional mic. This mic is very "rockabilly" sounding in nature and has a very distinct, fun sound if you like something that's a bit old school. An excellent harp mic as well with zero bass. It's a crunchy higher pitched sound. I've sold dozens of them for that very purposes and they never get returned. These little mics have a very mid century vibe as well that stands out. The 641 & 638's front grill has a classic design that resembled the air intake for many of the early American and Soviet fighter planes of that era. You'll notice that the microphone manufacturers were copying the styles of the American automobile, aircraft and space agencies for many years. Made right here in the U.S.A 60 + years ago this chunky, little mic is covered from head to toe in polished chrome. Everything is tight. No loose parts. The mic is cosmetically in very nice overall condition with virtually no wear on the polished chrome body. Just a few tiny scuff marks. You'll notice there are no indentations on the front screens either. I'd rate it a conservative 9 + on a scale of 1 -10. Please let the detailed pics be your guide. The threads for both the cable and stand are excellent with zero wear. The 638 badge looks pretty darn nice too. This one is ready to plug in and play. The mic comes with an equally beautiful E.V 423A model desk stand that really compliments the mic and makes for a stable platform. The 423A was sold for about 30 years total before being discontinued. The 423A was an all metal design and quite rugged. Lite weight and has the satin chrome finish on the base with the polished chrome riser. The stand is just as nice as the mic. The dimensions with the mic and stand are appx 10 inches tall X 5 inches wide. E.V sold the 428 PTT stand that had a built in push to talk lever but that design was very clumsy and annoying to work with as the oversized lever would often activate by accident. This set up here looks much nicer and is 10 times more practical. If you need a very special mic then this combo will do you justice. As always... I can promise you will be happy with it for the price paid. If not...I have a no hassle return policy. The return shipping will be on you as I believe that's fair but the purchase price would be refunded. Simply return in the same nice condition...period. Check my rating. INTERNATIONAL BUYERS are welcome as well. BUYER MUST PAY WITHIN 24 HOURS or will lose rights to this item, unpaid item report will be filed and will be re-listed. If you don't intend on buying this...do not commit to buy please. Domestic buyer will get priority shipping. If you have any questions feel free to ask and...thanks for looking.
Price$215
+ $14.99 Shipping
14-Day Return Policy
Enjoy peace of mind with your new gear
